The possibility of deliberate norm-adherence in AI

Ethics and Information Technology - Moral agency status is often given to those individuals or entities which act intentionally within a society or environment. In the past, moral agency has...     

Tweet Up? Examining Twitter's Impact on Social Capital and Digital Citizenship in Higher Education

Twitter is a highly accessible communication venue that is embraced by great numbers of traditionally aged and ethnically diverse college students. Danielle Morgan Acosta challenges us to turn our research and teaching attention to the potential of Twitter to support student learning.     

In vitro antioxidant activity and potential inhibitory action against α-glucosidase of polysaccharides from fruit peel oftea (Camellia sinensis L.)简

The conditions for extracting polysaccharides from tea (Camellia sinensis L.) fruit peel (TFPPs) were studied. Three parameters (temperature, time, and liquid/solid ratio) affecting the extraction of TFPP were optimized using response surface methodology (RSM). Under the optimized conditions, the yield of TFPP was predicted to be 4.98%. The physicochemical properties, in vitro antioxidant activities, and inhibitory effects on α-glucosidase of fractionated TFPPs (TFPP-0, TFPP-20, TFPP-40, and TFPP-60) were investigated. We found that the TFPPs were all acid protein-bound heteropolysaccharides, although with different chemical compositions. They had not only remarkable scavenging activity on 2,2′-azinobis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) diammonium salt (ABTS) and reducing activity, but also excellent inhibitory potential against α-glucosidase in vitro. Our results suggest that tea fruit peel could be treated as a potential bioresource for the development of polysaccharide antioxidants.     

Lombroso's Legacy: The Miseducation of Criminologists

This study examines the extent to which criminal justice and criminology Ph.D. students are exposed to contemporary biological and genetic findings associated with aggression and violence. Drawing on multiple sources of information, we find little evidence showing that Ph.D. students are exposed to any biological research on crime and offending. We examine the consequences for this “trained incompetence” and offer suggestions for remedying this deficiency.

If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person, than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind. (John Stuart Mill)     

Martin to Brown

The rise of the modern Black Lives Matter movement can be traced back to two key events, the 2012 death of Trayvon Martin and the 2014 death of Michael Brown. Research routinely showed that mainstream media’s narrative choices marginalize and delegitimize protesters and their causes, a pattern known as the protest paradigm. This study provides a longitudinal examination of how the same mainstream media system varied in their coverage of similar events and the degree to which journalists challenged the predicted paradigms conceptualized in other academic work. A content analysis of national newspaper coverage revealed that news before the judicial rulings focused on protesters’ tactics (violence versus peaceful) and changed to the realm of ideas (grievances and demands) after the assailants were considered not guilty of wrongdoing. No progression was found in legitimizing coverage of protests between the two cases.